My mum used to buy my grandpa street directories for Christmas.
You can still get them: thick books like atlases with every road in your area printed and accurate at the time of publication. If the roads change, you need to buy an updated book.
MapQuest was next. It's a website where you type in your points of origin and destination, and it generates a list of directions. Back in the day you'd have to print them out on your home computer, or carefully handwrite what it said, so you or your passenger could keep watch for the street signs that posted your next turn.
As far as I can gather, people survived like this.
Speed forward into the future, and MapQuest is just one of countless GPS navigation apps that help drivers the world over get from A to B.
Why are you telling me this, Spaceship?
The long weekend is approaching, we're all under fuel pressure, and we want our Spaceshippers to arrive safely, wherever they're going. And some of your favourite navigation apps may also be in your Spaceship Voyager portfolio at the time of writing.
Let's take a look.
In this article
Certain portfolios have exposure to Alphabet (which owns Waze and Google Maps) and Apple at the time of writing. This is not an indication of future performance or a recommendation to invest.
Here's how they, and other GPS apps and technology, could help you get where you're going.
10 GPS driving hacks for your long weekends and road trips
GPS apps are a great tool, but they're not infallible. Maps and speed limit data aren't always up to date, and crowd-sourced alerts depend on the other drivers on the road reporting in, so you shouldn't rely on these instead of reading the road, the road signs, and following the rules.
Remember it's illegal to use your mobile phone while driving in Australia. You generally need to make sure it's mounted and you use your app hands-free. Check the rules for your state, including whether you're allowed to use GPS mobile phone apps - in NSW, P Platers aren't. And don't forget your charger.
Set speed alerts to help you save fuel 💨
Fuel prices always seem to spike before long weekends. One way to navigate that? Watch your speed. (This is also the law.)
"A reduction of around 10 km/h can realistically lead to fuel savings in the order of 5-10 per cent, depending on the vehicle and driving conditions," Swinburne University Professor of Transport Technology and Sustainability Hussein Dia told Yahoo! News.
Some apps, such as Waze, let you set up speed limit alerts that make a sound when you hit the limit, or approach a set speeding threshold. Keep in mind you still have to obey the road signs.
Narrate your drive with a fun or soothing voice 🎙️
Check if your GPS app has an option to change the voice. Waze offers celebrity and custom voice packs, while Google Maps and Apple Maps let you change language, tones, and accents.
They can make a long drive a little more engaging - especially if you get the voice of Santa narrating your Christmas drive (speaking from experience).
Plan for hazards ⚠️
If you use a GPS app when driving, it may give you real-time hazard alerts, such as when you're approaching stopped cars or potholes.
Google Maps and Waze both have features that can alert you to incidents and closures. Some of these are crowd-sourced and won't always be accurate or up to date, but they may help you drive more carefully in tricky conditions.
Avoid tolls 💸
Paying $10 to drive down a road? In this economy? If you decide you're having none of that, you may be able to set your GPS to navigate you toward toll-free roads.
Google Maps, Apple Maps, and Waze each support this feature. Keep in mind, while it might save you money, it mightn't save you time.
Personalise your ETA and share your location 📍
Setting expectations for your trip, such as knowing how long it will take, and when you'll get somewhere, can help reduce some of the stress.
Your GPS app can give you a good approximation of your estimated time of arrival (ETA). Waze bases it on your prior driving history, while Google Maps loops it in with more aggregated behaviour of other motorists and road history.
One handy feature? Each supports sharing your ETA or location with the people you're driving to or away from, so they can follow along without sending you, "Are you there yet?" texts.
Optimise your drive time so you can miss the traffic 🚦
Time spent sitting in slow traffic is time spent wasting precious holiday time and fuel.
Check if your GPS app can help you beat the traffic: Google Maps and Apple Maps both have features that let you time your trip to leave or arrive by certain times, while Waze gives you its best guess for when you should leave based on traffic.
Download offline maps 📶
Can you relate to this experience?
If driving without navigation strikes fear into your heart, you're among friends. And also, see if your GPS app lets you download offline maps before your journey, in case your phone signal runs out or gets weak.
Google Maps and Apple Maps both support offline connections, so if you're driving into regional or rural areas, these could help you stay on track. Waze doesn't currently offer this feature.
Plan your stops ☕
Having a plan for petrol, a break, food, or coffee before you need it can be the difference between enjoying a rest, or breaking the budget on expensive fuel and terrible coffee.
Check if your GPS app allows you to add additional stops to your journey, and it could give you some extra peace of mind when you're behind the wheel, as well as save the confusion that comes from trying to add extra stops mid-route.
Apple Maps can support up to 14 stops, Google Maps up to nine, and Waze just one. And if you've ever said, "Siri, direct me to the next McDonald's" mid-route, and then become skeptical of there not being one for 400 kilometres, you might want to check this one out.
Find a parking spot (and remember how to get back there) 🅿️
If you're driving somewhere unfamiliar, you won't know where to park. There's a good chance your GPS app might.
If you're connected to your car's Bluetooth, Google Maps and Apple Maps can both auto-save your parking spot when your phone disconnects, while Waze can auto-save a pin on arrival.
Find an eco-friendly route 🌿
Google Maps has this one in the bag. It has settings that allow you to toggle 'Prefer fuel-efficient routes' on or off, and also identify the type of car you drive, whether it's gas, diesel, hybrid, or electric.
Then it bases its suggested route on the info you've given it. Here's some more about Google Maps' eco-friendly routes.
Want to learn more about the companies held in Spaceship Voyager portfolios? Get to know the Spaceship Voyager portfolios including portfolio information, risks, fees, TMD and PDS.
Visit Spaceship VoyagerSome of our Spaceship Voyager portfolios invest in Alphabet (which owns Google Maps and Waze) and Apple at the time of writing.
Important! We're sharing with you our thoughts on the companies in which Spaceship Voyager invests for your informational purposes only. We think it's important (and interesting!) to let you know what's happening with Spaceship Voyager's investments. However, we are not making recommendations to buy or sell holdings in a specific company. Past performance isn't a reliable indicator of future performance.
The information in this article is prepared by Spaceship Capital Limited (ABN 67 621 011 649, AFSL 501605). It is general in nature as it has been prepared without taking account of your objectives, financial situation or needs.
